MORE than 200 peasant farmers in Kenya’s Tana River district are to be relocated from their ancestral land to create room for the Red Colubus and Crested Mangabey monkeys, the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) announced at the weekend. In return, 247 of 330 families moved out of the 166-square kilometre Tana River Primate National Reserve, […]
A DROUGHT-induced famine is currently ravaging Burkina Faso’s northeastern Dori region, threatening livestock and causing an exodus, especially of labourers, the Danish NGO Danida said Tuesday. “The cereal shortage is causing prices to rise on the local markets,” said Issoufou Ganou, Danida official in charge of Dori. Prices of millet, for instance, has tripled, Ganou […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Kigali | Wednesday COUNTRIES and rebel groups accused by a UN-appointed panel of fuelling the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo by plundering the countrys resources have rejected the charges. Rwanda scoffed that they were “without foundation”. Uganda called them “baseless”. Burundi dismissed them as “false”. The Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), […]
UGANDA loses up to $115m through corruption in the government each year, an NGO report released on Monday said. The Uganda Debt Network (UDN), which is campaigning for a reduction of the country’s foreign debt, said its report was compiled from careful scrutiny of official reports of the Auditor General, which it said exposed “just […]
A TANZANITE processing plant belonging to South African gemstone company (Afgem) was bombed in Mererani in Tanzania’s northern Arusha region at the weekend, said Arusha Regional Police Commander Alfred Tibaigana on Tuesday. He said no one was injured in the blast, but that the plant was extensively damaged. Tibaigana said that about 20 people had […]
THE death toll on South Africa’s roads over the Easter weekend surpassed the 100 mark although it was still lower than the figure for the previous year. Arrive Alive said that 100 people had been killed since Thursday. KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest death toll with 36 followed by the Western Cape with 14 and the […]
EMMANUEL DEFOULOY, Brussels | Wednesday FOUR Rwandans, including two Roman Catholic nuns, have gone on trial in Belgium for their part in the 1994 massacre of an estimated 800_000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in the central African state. Vincent Ntezimana, 39, Alphonse Higaniro, 51, and nuns Consolata Mukangango, 42, and Julienne Mukabutera, 36, are charged […]
THE deputy governor of Kano, northern Nigeria’s largest state, has led a series of raids on hotels to crack down on prostitution in line with the Islamic law, his office said on Tuesday. The strict law, known as the Sharia, bans gambling, prostitution, alcohol, stealing and other social vices. “The objective is to rid the […]
CRIS CHINAKA, Harare | Wednesday ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe says he will stand in the countrys 2002 presidential election, saying he was the best hope for his ruling Zanu-PF party. “Yes of course I am going to stand. I would like to see my party – which shall win – win,” Mugabe, 77, told Zimbabwean […]
RAMPANT smuggling of tea into Ethiopia has threatened thousands of jobs and prevented the sale of millions of dollars’ worth of the leaf, authorities said on Monday. “The huge amount of tea produce smuggled into Ethiopia from the neighbouring countries has reportedly caused 30m birr ($3.57m) worth of locally produced tea to be accumulated in […]
THE International Monetary Fund on Tuesday approved a credit disbursement of $126m for Zambia to support the country’s efforts to sustain economic stability and reduce poverty. An IMF statement said Zambian authorities would be able to draw on $32m immediately. The assistance is part of a three-year loan package worth $322m approved by the Fund […]
A MALE “hitchhiker” disguised as a woman – with a baby on his back – robbed a motorist of his vehicle and cash in eastern South Africa, police said on Tuesday. The 27-year-old victim, Thulani Khumalo, said he stopped to pick up the assailant, who produced a gun and forced him out of his four-wheel-drive […]
For discrimination in key jobs, say the Guerrilla Girls, Hollywood is even worse than US Senate.
ROBERT HOLLOWAY, United Nations | Tuesday A UN panel has called for tough measures to stop the plunder of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including a regional ban on exports of timber to and from Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, saying it was now the motive and engine of the war there. “The […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday ANOTHER twist to South Africa’s controversial R43bn arms deal is expected this week, when feisty PAC MP Patricia De Lille is to release the name of a senior ANC MP alleged to have acted improperly with regard to the awarding of the contract. “I have already stated, and warned the […]
MOZAMBIQUES top tourism official on Monday accused several South African tourist companies of racism, and said the government had moved to discipline them. “We are fighting against all kinds of racism because our tourist resources are public and not private assets,” said national tourism director Antonio Saia. Allegations of racist practices by some South African […]
FOURTEEN people died and two were critically injured in a head-on collision between a minibus-taxi and a car on Sunday. Policeman Bala Naidoo said the taxi driver, who was among the dead, apparently crossed the road into the face of oncoming traffic around 5:00 am on the road between KwaDukuza and Zinkwazi in KwaZulu-Natal. KwaZulu-Natal […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday A HANDLER has been killed by an elephant cow which was being used on a film set in Broederstroom outside Johannesburg. A co-owner of Glen Africa farm outside Broederstroom, Vicky Brooker, said Fiso Mbambo, 23, was killed while walking through the veld with five fellow handlers, who worked for circus […]
FRANCES National Aids Council on Monday asked 39 drug companies suing the South African government over its plan to use cheaper, generic Aids-fighting drugs to withdraw their lawsuit. Hearings are set to resume on Wednesday in Pretoria into the complaint filed by the 39 companies including Glaxo Wellcome, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Boehringer Ingelheim for violation […]
EIGHTEEN people died during a heavy storm at the weekend in Luanda, a representative for the city said on Monday, while hundreds of homes in the city’s shantytowns were destroyed. Joao Dombaxi, representative for the city government, was unable to provide details on the deaths, but state media earlier reported that eight people died in […]
ADE OBISESAN, Lagos | Tuesday ETHNIC Igbo in southeast Nigeria are demanding more than $63bn in government compensation for alleged injustice and rights violations committed during the 1967-70 Biafran war. The request has been submitted to a human rights panel which will begin sitting this week in the historic city of Enugu. The panel, set […]
MOZAMBIQUE has begun issuing tourist visas at the country’s main borders and at Maputo airport, the nation’s top tourism official said on Monday. “The measure is aimed at increasing tourism in our country, which has made a significant contribution to the national economy,” said national tourism director Antonio Saia. Although called a tourist visa, Saia […]
More than 11_000 people commit suicide in France every year, most of them men and aged between 25 and 34, while 160_000 make suicide attempts, according to an official study. The government report said suicide causes 2.1% of deaths. But among the 25-34 year olds it is the primary cause of death. It is the […]
A MISSILE-throwing crowd brought a premature end to the African Champions League match between Highlanders of Zimbabwe and Young Africans of Tanzania on Sunday. Frustration at seeing favourites Highlanders trail 2-0 in the second leg of a first-round tie boiled over with five minutes left when the visitors were awarded a penalty. There was no […]
THE Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund has provided funding for a year to a controversial anti-rape organisation in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga. The Greater Nelspruit Rape Intervention Project (Grip), a volunteer organisation, faces eviction from two provincial hospitals at the end of the month for providing free anti-Aids drugs to rape victims. “It’s absolutely fantastic that the Mandela […]
SOUTH Africa is considering opening an embassy in Iraq, where an official delegation has just completed a visit to discuss bilateral relations, says deputy minister for foreign affairs, Aziz Pahad. “I think opening an embassy in Baghdad would contribute to the strengthening of bilateral relations”, said Pahad, who led the delegation. Iraq inaugurated its embassy […]
NORTHERN Province police have opened a murder docket following the discovery of a body on a rugby field outside Pietersburg. The victim – a white man – was found by members of the Noordelikes Rugby Club when they went for their daily practice. The club made headlines recently when nine of its members were arrested […]
JOHN GROBLER, Windhoek | Monday NAMIBIAS growing number of prostitutes must be registered as “a matter of national urgency” to prevent their clients spreading HIV to their families, Health Minister Libertine Amathila says. “Men often refuse to use condoms,” Amathila told AFP in an interview. “It seems they feel if they pay, they have the […]
SOUTH African President Thabo Mbeki is preparing for a state visit to Lesotho next week, but is not sure whether he will be able to take a cow with him. Mbeki owes Lesotho’s King Letsie III a cow as payment for a fine imposed on him by the ruler for failing to attend his 1999 […]
LAGOS State lawmakers have demanded that Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo apologise for allegedly describing the commercial capital as an “urban jungle” unfit for human habitation. Obasanjo allegedly told a UN-sponspored forum on city conditions that “Lagos qualifies as an urban jungle which should not be inhabited by any sane person.” Legislators complained that Obasanjo’s failure […]
FISHERMEN are recovering the bodies of travellers after a road accident claimed dozens of lives outside the Chadian capital when a lorry plunged off a bridge into a river. Police believe about 100 people were packed on to the heavy goods vehicle when it fell from the bridge after hitting a pedestrian and smashing through […]
TWO Egyptians have been sentenced to three months in jail and $27 fines for creating an Internet site featuring personal advertisements for homosexuals. The ruling by the appeals court lightened a sentence by a lower court that had condemned one of the defendants to 15 months in jail and the other to three months in […]